Sunday
by Momosportif
Summary: The Noahs are looking to increase their numbers through wedlock and the task falls to the favorite dashing bachelor Tyki to get hitched or get ditched. The Pleasure is none too pleased at first, but he can never resist a good gamble. COMPLETE!
1. Sunday

This is for a lovely writer named kaenu who deserves this story and a thousand more thank yous for the simple act of understanding a fellow writer when she needed it the most. :) From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

What started as a simple oneshot turned into a chapter fic, which was unexpected but not entirely unanticipated as one can never really know where a story featuring the lovely Noah family will end up. After all, as you can see from the title, it is onlySunday and there are seven days in a week. 3 To arrest any fears concerning posting, I have three more chapters ready to post and two more chapters written. I'm currently plowing my way through Saturday, which will be broken up into smaller parts, so I project that I will be posting the next chapter every week or perhaps every other week (depending on how my heinous school schedule plays out. XD)

Another sincere thank you to kaenu and I hope that all of you enjoy!

-bows-

-S

* * *

"How long?"

Tyki found his newspaper folded down to reveal a delicately concerned visage that he was none too thrilled to see. "_What?_"

"How long are you going to wait?"

"Oh, not this again!" Dark brows plummeted the second realization sunk in and Tyki hurriedly forced his reading (or rather, not-reading) back into its relatively vertical form, blocking his view of the unwanted visitor.

"Now, Tyki, you can't run away from this!" He swiveled purposefully to the right as his aggressor leaned to the left, "This is your prime! You have your pick of the best Europe can offer and they're all verily dying to get at you, it's almost cruel, really," a sharp one hundred and eighty degree turn as he rallied on the right," but most of all it's a crime to yourself!" A hand finally caught the unwilling audience member and prevented any further wriggling.

Sheryl blinked plaintively at what was visible of his scowling brother over the daily journal and composed his features into their most beseeching arrangement before swatting down the paper to the coffee table with an air of grand finality. "Tyki," he brought a slight palm to rest over that part of his vesture under which his most vital organ was said to rest, "it breaks my heart to see you suffer!"

"That's just it, dear brother," Tyki shrugged out of underneath Sheryl's gentle grip on his shoulder, " 'you'. This is all about _you_, this is all about _your_ suffering over things in _your_ imagination. It has nothing to do with me so, if you could please, go suffer somewhere else." He made a grab for the paper but a well-aimed flop onto the desk (and directly atop the desired object) prevented his desperate attempt to seize the ticket to distraction.

"Tyykiiii!" the disgruntled Noah lifted his gilded gaze to the far corner, pointedly avoiding the pout-contorted countenance that was so very similar to Road's when she was possessed by pining moods. "You're depriving yourself of the greatest happiness available to man!"

"In your humble opinion-"

"At least get a lady friend, Tyki!"

"Sheryl!" Tyki smacked the table and, for the first time in their conversation, turned to face his older brother full on, "I don't want a lady friend! I don't even want a female acquaintance! I am sick and tired of you and everybody else in the god-damned world hounding after me to marry or date or court or whatever. When I want to settle down, when I'm damn well ready to consider hunting down 'the one', I'll do it, I assure you. But for the time being," a smart tug brought the newspaper from beneath Sheryl's substantial derrière, "I'm perfectly content on my own, _thank you_."

For a few beats Tyki sat staring heatedly at his reading material, the electricity of his indignant outburst sizzling out, but when Sheryl made no sign of departing he ripped his eyes up savagely and said coldly, "I said '_thank you_'…" The older Noah, seemingly in compliance to Tyki's disguised invitation for him to leave, slid from the desk with a sigh.

"Well… If that's how you feel-"

"It is-"

"I guess I'll just have to give up-"

"You've never said a kinder thing to me, Sheryl."

"Aw!" Tyki grimaced at the loathed but not unexpected pinch of his cheek that usually accompanied the various and sundry cooing noises his elder was prone to make, "You have until Saturday."

"_What_?" Tyki's eyes widened, face going slack in disbelief.

Sheryl gave his most sinisterly sweet smile, eyes forming two little perfect arches of elated evil and mouth curving upwards to the point that it looked fit to collapse on itself.

"Saturday. I'm having a party in honor of you and your new significant other. The whole of civilized society will be waiting for you to introduce your date to them so let's not disappoint anyone, hm? The Earl gets rather depressed when we smear the good family name. Toodles!" With a wiggle of his fingers, Sheryl all but ran from the room, pausing at the door to give a little shrug of delight.

Tyki let his head fall to greet the table top with a hollow thunk. The newspaper fluttered to the ground and raced the bedraggled bachelor's spirits in deflating.

* * *

Questions, comments, concerns, or homicidal urges? Please feel free to present any of the aforementioned to me in a review! A thousand thank yous for reading!!!

-bows-

-S

p.s. The chapters are very short, I know. This is because it was originally going to be a oneshot as I said at the beginning...Sorry if that bothers you! I willl make the greatest efforts to hold true to my promised regime of posting!!!


	2. Monday

**ATTENTION:** If you read this story up to four days after this was posted, this chapter will look familiar to you. This is because I accidentally posted this document, which is chapter two, as chapter one. XD Please go back to read the REAL chapter one if this is the case. A thousand pardons for my idiocy and thanks for reading!!! XD

-bows-

-S

* * *

"Tyki and his girlfriend sitting in a tree!"

"K-i-s-s-i-n-g! First comes love, then comes marriage, he!"

"Then comes Tyki with a baby carriage!"

"He, he, he!" A chorus of giggles rained down on the object of the chant's stiff back.

"Shut up, you two…"

"Tyki has a girlfriend!"

'Tyki has a girlfriend!"

"He has a giiiiirlfriend!!!"

Stereo was far too much. "I said shut up, twins!" Tyki whirled on the twins who, instead of halting as most stalkers would have, charged him and began indulging in their favorite game: pull-Tyki's-hair-without-getting-smacked, or simply Pull-o! (in honor of the Earl and his habit of adding random vowels to the end of words).

"Twins? We don't know who 'twins' are!"

"Yeah, that's right! We're Jasdebi, he!"

"Jasdebi!"

"Ow! Dammit, twins!" A string of words followed this exclamation that should never be repeated and, as Tyki's foul luck would have it, were caught by the massive ears of Millennium.

"Tyki-pon! Twinsu! What is that ruckus I hear?" The source of the sickeningly familiar voice emerged in all his bath-robed glory, glasses sparkling in an ominous way. "If you need to be noisy, take it outside."

Before the beleaguered victim could open his mouth to explain the situation, Debitto gave a smart salute and shouted militantly, "Yes, Sir, Earl-samma, sir!"

Both he and Jasdero grabbed a fistful of curled, ebony locks and began marching towards the nearest exit with no sympathy for the incidentally tender scalp the hair was attached to.

"And Tyki-pon! Watch your mouth! I would hate for those words to slip out around Road… It always hurts me when I have to punish you children."

Ridiculously outnumbered, Tyki abandoned any plans for escape and put all his steadily draining energy into staggering backwards in a desperate attempt to ease the strain on his hair.

* * *

"Girlfriend!"

"Giiiirlfriend!" The intensity of the twins' teasing had significantly waned after a heated chase in the yard. Tyki sat, arms crossed and head plopped with defeat in the resulting nest. The twins were on either side of him, flushed and fading fast under the intense mid-day heat but still continuing to prod the almost lifeless form of Tyki.

"Girl…"

"friend…" In unison Jasdero and Debitto collapsed onto the picnic table, cheeks squishing against the steel, diamond covered surface.

A golden eye snuck over Tyki's crossed arms to analyze the state of his aggressors. Upon confirming that they were no longer capable of making much trouble, he heaved himself up, propping his chin in between his hands. "Hey, Jasdero… Debitto…"

"Whadisit ya squirrelly bastard?"

Tyki dropped his eyes to the one that had spoken, Debitto. "Where'd you hear that I had a girlfriend?"

"Nowhere, he…" he turned his gaze to Jasdero. The blonde's normally wide fish-eyes were halfway closed with fatigue. The stitches on his mouth strained and laxed as he went on. "Sheryl just looked happy so we guessed it was one of three things…"

"He'd won one of those contests under soft drink caps finally…"

"Road had gotten cloned, he…"

"Or you had a g.f.," a spindly finger jammed into his ribs on the Debitto side, "and you looked so miserable at breakfast so we guessed it was the last one."

"I see…"

Tyki looked up, studying the pristine ornamental garden patches that dotted Sheryl's back yard, and every other self-respecting gentleman's back yard for that matter. He imagined that if he were to go peer over the picturesque white fence that sealed them so neatly into their own little world he would find an identical little garden attached to an identical grand house with the little people moving in and out of it being the only difference.

Such were Sheryl's tastes.

Such was Sheryl's life, built all around rules and agendas and propriety.

It was for this reason that he allowed himself to be terrorized by the twins. Without a little danger what was life good for anyways? Where was the fun in playing by the rules?

Tyki bit down pensively on the fleshy part of his thumb. What was it Sheryl expected him to do exactly? Produce a significant other by the end of the week? Or was he expecting Tyki to freak out and promise to _actually_ start looking for real under the pressure of the deadline? His brother played a hard game, that was to be certain, but what could be more entertaining than ensnaring Sheryl in his own little trap?

He glanced down at the seemingly dozing Debitto and weighed his chances. Slim, at best, but not nonexistent. He would play along. There was nothing he liked more than a good gamble.

"Do you know who it is?"

"Nu-uh…"

"Have any guesses?"

"Nope… he…"

"We don't really care anyways, lover boy," one of Debitto's angled eyes slit open and caught Tyki's peripheral glance, "Just as long as you found one that's prettier than you."


	3. Tuesday

Because I screwed up, I'm posting two chapters in a desperate attempt to receive your forgiveness. -bows and grovels- :) Hope you're enjoying it so far! As always, feel free to alert me of typos, etc. I need all the help I can get.

-bows-

-S

* * *

"Lulu? Lulu are you in here?"

"Yes."

"Mind if I interrupt?"

"Yes."

"Lulu, it's important. I need to talk to you." Tyki put his back against the wall and counted slowly to five in his head, waiting for the-

"Huhhh…"

- there was the pointed sigh. He put his hand on the door knob and counted to three for the-

"I guess you can, then. If it's _important…_"

"Thanks, Lulu! You're such a darling…" Tyki let himself into the candle lit sanctuary that was Lulubell's transformation of the bathroom. Strong perfume immediately washed over him in such poignant waves that it could have rendered lesser men dizzy if not unconscious. Amongst the veritable arctic landscape of bubbles Lulubell's bust protruded (more so than necessary Tyki guessed), dark in a sharp contrast to the white surrounding her on all sides.

She regarded him through lidded eyes that betrayed absolutely no emotion but regal distance. He sat at the edge of the tub and the beacons of gold shut as her usually pomegranate colored lips parted, "What is it?"

"You look, rather stunning without your make-up on."

"Is that important?"

"Is it?" A gray finger found its way over the porcelain edge and dove into the inches of foam. "If I were you I would be rather pleased to know that… it could save you a good hour or so of time in the morning."

"To do what with? Smoke?" A dark foot rose to the side of the tub. "I'd rather not." The little crescent moons of her eyes waxed to grace him with their attention. He smirked under her imperial gaze, brows rising in what could have easily been mistaken as a seductive way except that it was marred by the glimmer of something resembling affection that played over his eyes. "What is it, Tyki?"

"I imagine you've heard the news."

"About you and your party? I imagine the whole world has heard it. I'd have to be dead to not know."

"Heh. Sheryl's not really known for his discretion, I suppose."

"So what about it?"

"I just wanted some advice…" with elegant slowness Lulubell descended, dark form swallowed by the foam landscape, and then resurfaced, an appropriately gentle eruption but a devastating one all the same. Tyki glanced curiously through the crevices she'd created before going on. "What would you do if someone set you up before you were… ready to be set up, I guess- Hmp!" He stood abruptly to avoid being splashed by thrashing feet. "What's that supposed to mean, Lulu?"

"You're dismissed."

"_What_?"

"Go on. I'm tired of having you in here. Plus the bubbles are thinning."

"But what about my question!"

"Get! You're a naughty pet, Tyki-pon!"

This use of the Earl's term of endearment did not sit well with the Pleasure. He reached the door in a state of haughty irritation and was just about to take out all his flustered fury on the handle when the Lust's emotionless, low voice poured out across the floor to wrap itself around his ankles.

"But if you really want to know, I'd make a run for it. Slip away for a while until it all dies down, Tyki, since I know you won't have anyone by Saturday. Go on… I'll take care of it…" Her voice evaporated, leaving him free to move again.

The doorknob bent at the significantly-more-peaceful-than-previously-intended urging of his hand.

"Thanks, Lulu…" steam billowed out into the hall with the gently smiling Noah. "But I know better than to get in your debt."


	4. Wednesday

"May I be excused?"

"Hm, hm, hmmm…"

"Sennen-ko… may I be excused?"

"Hm, hmmm, HMM…"

Tyki cast about the table for support from his siblings, but everyone was suddenly very involved in the contents, or lack there of, on his or her plate. Grimly, Tyki set to making a final, pointed plea, "Earl-samma! Can I go or not?"

"Pardon, Tyki-pon?" A deceivingly delicate visage rose to meet his uneasy and disgruntled countenance.

"I'd like to be excused if it's no trouble, Earl-samma."

"Oh…" The reply fell along with the pale green, pointy nose as the Earl slowly let his head bend back to its original craning position.

Disbelief shot across Tyki's face, but he quickly composed himself and took a stabilizing breath. If the Earl wanted him to wait, he could wait. Oh, he could wait.

"Oi! Grampa Gremlin! We're full!"

"Can we leave, he?"

Jasdero flung himself over the table in order to see the object of their interrogation from beyond Debitto's propped up feet.

Without bothering to glance up or allowing the slow and steady pace of his meal to be further interrupted, the Earl gave a slow nod accompanied by a soft, "Ho…"

"Ha, ha!" Debitto slid his boots off the table with an admirable amount of clatter and Jasdero stood sloppily, knocking his chair over in the process. "Later, guys!"

"Later!" echoed the fairer of the Bonds, stumbling after his brother who took the long route just so he could pass by the clearly indignant Pleasure.

Debitto gave a devious grin before saying deliberately, "Guess we better start lookin' for some daper digs we can wear on Saturday, eh, Jas?"

"Yup, yup, yup, he!"

Tyki's fist clenched under the table as they departed in a fit of giggles, making a supreme effort not to broadcast his frustration. "Earl-Samma, if I may-"

"Hem!" Sheryl rose imperiously to his right, stiffly untucking his napkin and daintily depositing it on his meticulously cleaned plate for an akuma servant to collect. He made a quick but elegant bow in the Earl's direction. "I'll take my leave, then, Master Millennium, with your permission."

"Certainly, Sheryl! And thank you for another most excellent meal! Your little dolls-u are always out-doing themselves."

His neutral expression slipped easily into one of his ridiculously curly smiles at the indirect ego petting. "Hm! I'll pass that on to them, thank you!"

Tyki bit the inside of his cheek as he followed Sheryl's more hurried than usual traipse to the door.

Fiery golden eyes shot from the swinging portal to catch the sparkling spectacles before they delved back to the seemingly perpetually full plate that was holding his attention oh so effectively.

"Sennen-ko! Please allow me to-"

"Are you going too, Lulu?"

"Earl-samma, I-"

"Well take care then, Lulu… don't get into trouble, hm?" The sleek black form of Lulubell disappeared as she leaped down from her stack of cushions, reappearing shortly after by Tyki's feet before rising into her human body.

"Bonne chance," a cuff to the shoulder accompanied the low though unwhispered commendation to the only madame Tyki had ever had interest in, Lady Luck.

And yet, as the door closed on his sister's swaying hips, he felt that the flirtatious female entity had long ago made her exit with no intention of being present at the evidently unavoidable pow-wow between he and the Earl of the Millennium.

So, it was with heavy heart that Tyki turned to face the massive form at the head of the table. Time seemed to slow as the Earl brought his napkin to his mouth, with a painful lack of rapidity, to dab at the edges of his massive maniacal grin. The lone Noah, untouched by this sudden distortion of the passage of time, heaved an elbow to the table in a blatant breach of manners and propped his chin in his hand, trying his very best to exude boredom, irritation, and general malcontent.

"Ho!"

Tyki cut his eyes up in as much of a roll as he dared in response to this exclamation of surprise.

The gloved hand not occupied with setting down the napkin rose to press against a long green cheek. "Tyki-pon! Why, hello! I did not realize it was just you and I!"

_You've got to be kidding me…_

"Really… how fascinating."

"Fascinating indeed!" An akuma maid staggered over in her awkward way to take the Earl's plate, which he offered to her with a gracious 'ho' before rotating with almost unimaginable lethargy to face his victim. "See, I have been meaning to have a little chat with you, dear Tyki-pon… just a little chat…"

"About Saturday?"

"Ho!" Both hands flew to his cheeks now and he leaned forward to give an ascending chortle, "However did you guess?"

_Kill me now…_

"I've absolutely no idea, Earl. Dumb luck, I suppose."

"Luck is a good place to start, Tyki-pon," the gremlin adjusted his spectacles in a serious manner. He craned over the table in such minute increments that the arc of motion could not be followed, he was simply sitting up straight one moment and then much closer than the interogat-ee remembered (or desired him to be) the next. "I want you to be open with me, Tyki,"

_How ironic…_

"I know you can't possibly have a date already; it's not your style-"

"What if I do, Earl-samma?" He studied his nails briefly before glancing back up to the glittering lenses beneath which beady, angular eyes were boring into him.

"Tyki, I said be open. That includes honesty, yes?"

"Honesty! Ha!" Things were clicking together faster now. The heat of a dangerous moment melted all the reserve Tyki possessed more effectively than anything else could.

There really was nothing like a good gamble.

"Master Millennium, do you truly think I could lie to you? Or that I would really even attempt to?" He sat back, satisfied and finished off his performance with his best smooth and reassuring smile (one of several attributes that marked him unmistakably as Sheryl's brother). "I'm not _that_ stupid…"

The Earl sat up straight again and put a finger to his canines in thought, angling slightly to the side in order to isolate himself.

Tyki took advantage of the absence of the laser-beam vision being trained on him to relax his facial muscles and evaluate the situation. At least the Earl was thinking. That in and of itself was a good sign.

"Is she nice?"

"Pardon?"

The Earl's glasses looked particularly sparkly. Tyki looked from the pudgy clasped hands hovering over his heart to the leaking lenses with unchecked surprise and a substantial amount of repulsion.

"Is she nice, Tyki-pon? Is she pretty?" The tearful warble was processed and translated by Tyki's brain and triggered a wave of both incredulity and relief. He acted on the incredulity.

"Yeah, Earl, of course."

"Oh, Tyki!"

Before an escape could even be orchestrated, he found his head planted in the middle of the world's greatest antagonist's massive mid-section, vibrating with hearty sobs.

"I'm so happy for you, Tyki-pon! And here I was ready to ship you off with Lulubell in disguise in order to save the family name, but you've already taken care of everything on your own, oh my little _Tyki_!"

"Kuh!" The Pleasure choked as the last purr of his name was accented by a tight squeeze.

"I'm _so_ proud!"

"Ah!"

Air had never tasted so pleasant. The Earl released the wheezing black sheep of his flock and trundled off at maximum speed, hands flapping in excitement and emitting elated 'ho's between every few words.

"I'd better start overseeing this function to be sure it's done properly for such a monumental occasion, ho!"

Tyki rubbed his throat contemplatively.

_Trust old Millennium to make things more… interesting…_

"Now that we have something to celebrate!"

A thousand pardons for taking so long to update! In the best of all world's I will finish this over the next week (I have a divine little break :3), but I can't make any promises...

* * *

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Death threats? Please feel free to express any or all of the above in a review! Hope you enjoy!

A thousand thank yous for reading!

-bows-

-S


	5. Thursday

_Knock! Knock!_

"Who's theee-ere!"

Tyki's amber eyes rose from his reading, curious to hear the answer to his brother's sing-song inquiry.

_Someone must be coming in from a side door..._

"Papa!"

"ROAD!!!"

"Ho! Is that Road I hear, Sheryl?"

"Is there any little girl with a voice as sweet?"

Tyki glanced over at the grand clock that presided over the library.

Six sharp.

He raised his brows and returned to his literature, tuning out the daily ruckus of cooing and pampering that accompanied Road's arrival though dropping in every now and then to pick up pieces of her report of the day's happenings.

"I can't stand it anymore, Papa! I'm quitting!"

"Oh, but, Road! You were so excited about your piano lesson just this morning! What happened?"

The voices were getting closer. They were probably moving towards the den.

"She's an absolute idiot! She makes me do the same thing over and over-"

"That's how you get better, love!"

"Hmph!"

"Tch… Is this going to be like those ballet classes and the violin stint and the art lessons? Hm?"

"Paaaapa!"

"Well, if she's an idiot…"

They were upon him now. If he cared to look up he could have seen them through the cracked library door.

"As long as you find something else you'd like to do, ho…"

"Hm-yes…"

"Oh, I already have!"

And now they had passed. Tyki shifted in his wine-colored, high backed chair. It looked quite a lot more comfortable than it really was, but of course he couldn't rightly hold that against Sheryl. How should he know; he never read anyways. Libraries were just fashionable.

"I want to take karate!"

"Oh ho ho! How very feisty!"

"What a lovely notion, my dear! We'll find a school straight away!"

Tyki heard the den door slide open and waited to hear the voices drift into it and then muffle themselves into white noise, but it was a foolish thing to expect the expected in the company of his family.

"Papa, you're talking too much! Where's Tyki?"

"Hm?"

"Where's my uncle, papa!"

"Oh, Tyki! He's… well, I don't rightly know, my love…"

The voices were near again. Tyki idly fished for his bookmark on the side desk.

"You know, darling, your uncle is very busy at the moment with his party on Saturday coming up so soon and it is so brisk these days I really think you ought to sit and have some tea or hot coco before you go looking for Tyki…"

He nibbled on the corner of his page holder contemplatively as the voices trailed away again, dissipating into maternal mumbles until Road's voice suddenly cut clearly over her father and the Earl's fawnings.

"I'll be right back! I left my schoolbag at the door."

A soft flurry of padded footsteps ensued, stopping when they had carried the petite escapee a safe distance from the den.

Tyki slid the bookmark into place and let the book shut as the library door swung open.

"Hey, Tyki…"

"Hey, Road."

It was a quiet greeting for them, but libraries have that kind of effect on people. Road crawled up into Tyki's lap without asking permission. She didn't need to.

"How was your day, borboleta? I heard you say you're quitting piano."

"Yup. It's boring, Tyki. Everything's so boring…"

"I know, borboleta." Tyki propped his chin on her head with a sad but slightly amused smile, scruffing up her pristinely combed hair with slim sable fingers. "You're like me. You want to be free to fly wherever you like. It's one big, pretty cage we're in, eh, borboleta?"

"Huuuh." The small body expanded, then deflated with a sigh. "What are you going to do about Saturday, Tyki?"

"Hm?"

Road turned upwards, putting her chin where her cheek had been in order to stare her uncle down, lazy, omniscient gold versus startled, shifty orbs of the exact same color.

"You don't have a date!" She poked his shoulder hard. "You might have fooled everyone else, but I know better. There's not even a girlfriend in sight for you. I have no idea what you've been playing at though," the scouring gaze broke off their eye contact and Road shifted back to her previous position, "Lying to everyone and what not, especially Earl-samma. He won't be happy at all…"

"Well, aren't you the clever one!" Tyki studied the small head with admiration. "You've got one thing wrong though, borboleta…I've _never_ been considering a girlfriend."

"Really?" Road glanced up, but Tyki was looking into space rather stubbornly. "Lulu's been saying that for so long and no one's ever got it, even me…until just now of course, but-oh! Don't be scared, Tyki!" With a deceivingly sweet and innocent laugh the oldest Noah reached up to steer her sibling's visage back in her direction. "I won't tell!"

Tyki felt it best not to respond or question. It would have been little use trying to coax information out of the Dreams anyways.

"So what's your plan, Tyki? Are you going to tell?"

"Well…I've just kind of been winging it, you know…There really wasn't ever a plan per se, but yes, to your second question. I mean to show them anyways." He ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "It won't go over prettily, I'm sure, but at least it will shut everyone up about wife hunting once and for all."

"Mm…" Road drew her knees up closer to her body and smiled, large half-lidded eyes closing the rest of the way as she stated warmly, "If it were me, I would definitely bring Allen-kun." One eye opened briefly to emphasize the sincerity of her following offer, "but you're more than welcome to borrow him for the day if you'd like."

The mysterious smile spread Tyki's lips with so much force that it pried them open to reveal rarely seen teeth.

"Thank you, borboleta," he squeezed his niece. "That's a fine idea…A fine idea-"

"Road? Road, where are you, darling?"

"You are like me, aren't you? High stakes and nothing less-"

"Roooooad!"

"But Allen isn't the one I'm after…"

* * *

A thousand pardons again for taking so long to put this up. :P I will do my best to get everything done once and for all this fall break!!! :3

A thousand thank yous for continuing to read and please feel free to assault me with whatever you like in a review...XD Hopefully the answer to any questions will appear in an update sooner rather than later! -wink-

Thank you, thank you, thank you!

-bows-

-S


	6. Friday

"Gee…"

"Wake up, slacker!"

"Ow!"

The smart clout on the shoulder from a rather weighty history text brought the dozing junior bookman to his senses quite abruptly and none too gently.

"Jijiiii!" he protested reflexively, rubbing the abused joint while shooting rueful glances at his miniature mentor.

"Hmph." The object of offense paid his victim's glares no heed as he sifted through the intellectual litter covering their desk and took a drag on his pipe pensively.

After one last withering look, Lavi went back to his own reading and the stillness that usually gloved their activity returned full force, swallowing the two hunched figures entirely.

Or almost entirely.

Lavi carefully rose a few centimeters with practiced stealth to itch one foot's arch with the toes of the other. A little transgression to Bookman's stringent rules of conduct, but an exciting one all the same. The truth was, Lavi reflected, that he found what was to be his life's work indescribably boring at times.

His glazed over green eye traced the letters of the same sentence over and over again while his thoughts supplied new meanings as he naughtily, but forgivingly, allowed his mind to wander.

_I wander what Yu's doing right now…is he on a mission? Nah, surely not, I saw him just this morning…training. Mmm…And Allen, what's he up to? Probably finishing dinner…Krory too, I'd bet, and Lenalee…what's she doing? Let's see, it's about nine and she'd have eaten at seven to the next half hour or eight, maybe, then perhaps seen to the science department, which can't take twenty minutes tops unless Komui had time to chat, a definite no these days, so what then? Free time? I guess free time. Mmm…I'd love to-_

_Bzzt!_

"Eh?"

"Hmp!"

Master and trainee turned at the same time to the small space between Lavi's bent legs and Bookman's cushion where a book was vibrating violently. Bookman extended his clawed hand to remove the novel and a black golem burst free chirping accusingly as it fluttered around their heads.

Young eyes met old before returning to the clearly ruffled creature.

This was Bookman's personal communication device, not the one supplied by the Order. Only a select few people would have the need to reach the masters of forgotten history via the perky creature.

An iron-tipped digit extended to click the receiver. "Hello?"

"Good afternoon, master Bookman," the usually slit eyes widened as the aged but sharp brain slapped a face to the voice with more agility than his companion's could. "I have a favor to ask of you, if you have a moment to spare-"

"Jiji!"

"-mind you, I'm calling you as the Bookman, not as an exorcist-"

"Jiji, that's-"

"_Hush!_"

"Oh! Is now a bad time?"

"No, no…It's a fine time, a fine time- excuse my pupil…I'll send him out- _Go!_"

"But, Jiji-"

"One moment, please."

"As many as you need, sir."

Bookman cut the receiver off and sized up his apprentice.

"Your reaction is enough of an indication to me that you do not deserve to sit in on this particular conversation." The ancient historian returned his attention to the golem. "If you cannot jump immediately from one world to another you are too attached. I advise you to think on this out in the hall."

The redhead bit back a response as fiery as his mess of hair and stalked to the door, trying to quell the surge of indignation that accompanied all reprimands.

Bookman sent the door a pained look as it slammed shut before turning to prod his fluttering companion. "Thank you for your patience, Marquis."

"It's nothing, I assure you. How is your apprentice though, on the subject of the little Bookman."

"Mm. You speak rather fondly of it."

"'It'? You speak rather bitterly of _him_. Was it a bad time after all? I didn't intend to stir things up."

"Things are always stirred; what's this favor now?"

"Ah, yes…well, actually it concerns your dear 'it' rather closely, master Bookman."

"Mm."

* * *

"Yes, yes. Quite. Perhaps, perhaps- ah. You too. Hm, good evening then, and thank you again! Hm? Ah no, no. It will be ten times more beneficial to me, I assure you…Until then."

This time the golem folded its wings and collapsed in the wizened palm beneath it upon being pressed .

Lavi scanned the old panda for some further signs of what had passed in his absence, but, in the half-light of the dark hall, very little could be gleaned from the stoic expression of his senior.

"Well, Lavi," Bookman studied the creature in his hand before gently closing his fingers around it and lifting skeptical eyes up to his student, "I hope you managed to sort things out. You're going to a party tomorrow night."

"Huh?" Lavi was caught wholly off guard by the emotionless announcement and thus failed to resist the tug of his elder's free fist as they retreated back to their room.

"From now on perhaps you'll be more careful what you wish for."

* * *

Hm...looking back, that last sentence might not make as much sense as I imagined it did. XD Just in case, I was trying to infer that Bookman had been aware of Lavi's earlier bored musings and thus was responding to where Lavi's thoughts cut off "I wish I had-" :3

Thanks for reading!

-bows-

-S


	7. Saturday

"Tyyyyki! Is that you in there?"

"Yes-dammit, I didn't say you could come in, Sheryl! What do you want?" A freshly showered Tyki thrust his weight against the bathroom door, disgruntled.

Sheryl was _definitely_ not known for his discretion.

"Oops! Hee hee!"

Golden eyes made a loop of exasperation.

"Sorry! Well, I just wanted to get a peek at you getting ready and tell you that we're heading off to the venue!"

"All of you?"

"Yes! Every last one! Lulu said she'd watch the twins. Isn't that sweet of her?"

"Among other things that start with an 's', yes, that's very sweet of her. When do you want me to show up?"

"Well it's your party, isn't it? You can show up whenever so long as you do. I imagine you and your date have set this up already though, yes?"

"Ha!" The laugh escaped against his better judgment. "No. We're rather… disorganized."

"Both of you? Oh!" The pressure from the other side of the door increased momentarily. "How sweet! Well!" he felt Sheryl stand and relaxed against the flimsy piece of wood separating him from total annihilation by excessive displays of affection. "I'll hurry and move out the troops so you have all day to sort things out unbothered! Mwa!"

Tyki now fully removed himself from contact with the apparently desired medium for a kiss by transitive property from his brother, regarding the door with disgust.

"I can't wait to meet her!"

* * *

"Hya!"

"Jesus Chr-"

"Don't eat so sloppily! You should be practicing for tonight!"

Lavi immediately darkened.

"I'm not going."

"You sure as hell are, brat! Now sit up! I won't have you representing me with poor posture!"

* * *

"Right this way, sir."

"Thank you…" Tyki spacily ascended the carriage steps and sat in the lonely car, feeling rather sick. He tugged at the finger of one of his gloves. A teeze fluttered by his ear and landed by the agitated area as if sensing its master's intensity.

As the vehicle lurched into motion while a spotless finger lifted the plum creature to his ear. "Hello?"

* * *

"We're on our way, yes… Running behind though. I'm having trouble dressing it…"

"Ah, I see… When do you think you'll be there then?"

"About fifteen minutes later than planned."

"Excellent."

_Bzzt!_

"Did you hear that, Lavi- Eh! Stop messing with your tie! I had it just right!"

Lavi wisely made his response unintelligible. Bookman made several grabs for the guilty garment before his ferocious fishing was interrupted by a soft interjection.

"Um, Bookman, if you don't mind, I'll get that for you."

"Thank you, Komui. I've plenty other things to attend to besides grooming."

"Quite… Reever, would you follow him and see what you can do? He's gone up three times and returned empty handed…"

The section leader took of up the stairs in pursuit of the rather rapidly moving recorder as the supervisor finished repairing the damage Lavi had done to his neck piece.

"Mm…" The junior gave an unhappy grunt as Komui released him to admire his handiwork. Dark eyes jumped over the rim of his glasses.

"Is it too tight?"

He shook his head, untamed hair flopping melancholically as he peered down the tunnel that would soon carry him out into an unfamiliar night.

"It's too loose."

* * *

The cool night air was refreshingly brisk compared to the insulated heat of the carriage and especially soothing to Tyki's disturbingly warm cheeks.

_Am I nervous? What the hell for?_

"Ha!"

_I'm nervous! Good God… _

The pacing Noah collapsed on the stairs of the buggy, burying his face in his hands. A few moments of frozen hysteria passed, causing the curious coach driver to lean ever so carefully around to check on his master.

"Um, sir, are you-"

The curl-bedecked head rose suddenly, cutting off the concerned question. For the seventh time in six minutes they'd spent waiting outside the dance hall, Tyki leapt to his feet and took the teeze to his mouth.

"Hello?"

* * *

"What is it now?" Bookman responded calmly, eyes barely open.

Lavi regarded the device sourly and turned his attention to the window, trying to ignore the now all too familiar voice.

"What does he want me to call him?"

"He's right here, why don't you ask him yourself?"

"Oh! Sorry, of course, that makes sense! How silly of me- What shall I call you?"

"Hmp!"

"Pardon?"

"He said 'hmp', I believe. He wants you to call him 'hmp'-"

"Why does it matter what you call me?" Lavi barked, clearly unamused by his mentor's stern humor.

The golem fluttered down, as if projecting the dejection and hurt of the converser on the other line.

"You don't really care who I am. You just had certain criteria and I happened to meet them and you knew the old man would be pliable enough so you're just going to have me show up to fix all your problems with your family and then sit around for an evening or whatever. Basically," the younger Bookman's voice was hollow now, having emptied all of its volume at the heated beginning of his brief but condemning monolog, "you're just using me."

He trained his jade eye back on the window to avoid the thoughtful gaze of his elder and the blank stare of the subdued golem.

Quite some time passed in silence until it was broken by a static-contorted cough, "Um, well… Ah, I'm sorry you _feel_ it's that way. Actually I was hoping to get to know you some tonight."

Lavi whirled to confront the communication device with another acidic accusation but something within him snapped.

The ever fluctuating equilibrium between his inherited curiosity and his acquired overzealousness tipped suddenly in favor of the pursuit of answers to unformed questions and a calm swept over him abruptly and immediately.

The adolescent slouch straightened.

The cloud of fury evaporated, leaving cold, acute clarity.

"Then you can call me Lavi, Marquis Mikk."

"Tyki will be fine."

Bookman allowed himself a small smile before closing his eyes again.

_That's the way Lavi…

* * *

_

"Papa!"

"Sheryl!"

"Sheryyyyl!"

"Master Kamelot!"

"Ahaha! What!?!" The startled preparations director panicked, turning in a circle about three times before hurriedly replacing his fallen monocle in order to take in the crowd of people bombarding him for attention. An eager Road, a livid Lulubell, an anticipatory Earl, and a distraught servant stared back at him before all lunging for the chance to talk with the mutual understanding that volume would mean victory.

"PAPA-"

"SHER-"

"SHEEER-"

"MASTER, SIR, I-"

"Aahha! Ha!" Sheryl fumbled with the streamer in his hands and somewhere between jumping backwards, knocking over his stool, and dropping the box of thumbtacks, he managed to lose his monocle again.

With a sigh that climbed the octaves as it lengthened, the beleaguered Noah procured and readjusted his eye piece while rubbing an ear gingerly and surveying his belligerents with hurt.

"One at a time, _please_!" He cast about and selected the person who looked easiest to deal with. "Earl-samma?" He cocked his head and laced his fingers beneath his chin while considering the patriarch of evil in his human form. "What can I do for you?"

"Are we using the cream tablecloths with scarlet cross pieces or the lavender tablecloths with vermilion fringe?"

"The lavender. Cruz, what can I do for you?

"Master Mikk's carriage is outside. Shall I-"

"One moment. Lulu, dear, what seems to be the problem?"

"The twins are completely out of hand. I can't get them to listen to a word I say. I locked them in the kitchens, but I doubt that will hold them long…"

"Ah, excellent. Cruz. Get the twins. Send them out to get Tyki."

The unfortunate man paled, but bowed and uttered a miserable, "Yes, sir," as his master turned to his last remaining patient.

"And you, my love?" He leaned over, giving her atypically porcelain cheek an endearing pinch, "What do you need?"

"Can I help the twins?"

Sheryl beamed.

"As long as you don't muss your dress!"

* * *

"Woah…" Lavi couldn't suppress a verbal expression of awe as the carriage he and Bookman had taken for their second leg of the trip pulled up to the massive building that rested at the corner of the two streets they'd been told to find.

Things just weren't what they seemed on paper.

"Is this really where we're going, Jiji?"

"Hm. Where you're going, yes."

"What?!" The junior bookman whirled to face his serenely nodding senior with disbelief written across every inch of his countenance.

"What do you mean 'what'? Do I look dressed to attend a formal function?"

"Yeah, well, for you anyways; you never dress up, but, Jiji! I didn't know I was going to have to-"

"Think of it as a solo assignment. I'm sure there's much to be learned here that might come out more easily in my absence, do you understand?"

"Yeah, but-"

"Ah! Here comes your date!"

"Jiji…" Lavi leaned over to pull the carriage door shut from the inside and block his mentor's path to the exit.

Old eyes met young with measured majesty.

The panda was used to occasional disobedience but outright revolt was a rare happening.

"I know I'm prepared to enter this… mess as a bookman, but what if his family isn't prepared to greet me as one?"

Bookman relaxed, wry grin stretching across a seldom used path in his wrinkles.

"Then you have my permission to give them hell, exorcist."

The door was yanked mightily from without, shaking Lavi's arm enough to drag him out of his seat, but not enough to force him to relinquish his hold. Outside in the dusk the historians could see the silhouette of Tyki shrinking back in surprise and flapping about apologetically.

Another smooth exchange of glances ensued, this time with identical expressions of that kind of amused disbelief that is awakened by scenarios like someone trying to pull open a push door or read a sign in another language without realizing its entirely in another tongue.

Lavi made to exit at last, but Bookman stopped him. "I'll be right here. If you need me."

Sincerity shone forth in Lavi's smile and the often at-odds duo basked in a moment void of animosity before the master was left to watch his one and only pupil step out into the night and the arms of a man who had tried to take one or both of their lives on multiple occasions.

* * *

"Good evening, Lavi. Sorry about the door! I didn't realize-"

"No, it's fine. Sorry. We weren't trying to keep you out or anything-"

"Well, I didn't think you were-"

"Yeah, it was just kind of bad timing-"

"Yeah, let's just forget it ever happened and move on."

"Best idea I've heard all night."

"Yeah…"

As they had overlapped hurried apologies and explanations, the pair had stood a few feet apart from each other performing detailed and extensive investigations of the other's person.

Lavi's single exposed and well-trained eye saw a proper gentleman in every regard as far as attire, but a clearly liberal gentleman given his relaxed posture and the choice of wearing his hair quite longer than some of upstanding society would have looked kindly upon. He noted the dark skin tone and lack of scars that usually accompanied the sable pigment as well as the wider than expected eyes shifting back and forth, clearly engaged in the same task he himself was involved in. Overall, Lavi found a disconcerting core of honesty tempered only by, it was hard to believe, anxiety, if not fear.

Tyki's glowing gaze, with an equal level though different ilk of training in observation, took in a slim frame sporting formal attire of a decent make that fit the adolescent's body surprisingly well given how supremely arduous it was to find anything that fit a teenager. A certain simplicity and neutrality radiating from him did not go unnoticed, nor did the fact that his hair had not been cared for in any particular way and yet had ended up remarkably stylish. Overall, Tyki discovered a disconcerting immediate attraction to the red-haired creature as well as a pleasantly calming stability in his detached manner.

Satisfied, both brought their eyes back to the others face.

"Your hair's still long."

"You look nice dressed up."

Pleasantries exchanged, the duo took to staring around into space while secretly sneaking glances at each other and would have gone on doing so for quite some time had they not been interrupted by a loud and sudden noise from the building's entrance.

"YOOWOOOOO!!!"

The mighty war whoop (or more correctly, war whoops to Tyki's well-trained ear) cut across the evening bracketed by the thrusting open and falling shut of the grand doors, partially concealed from Tyki and Lavi's position by a prim row of trees and bushes as well as by the heavy layers of dusk that had already gathered.

Lavi looked on in interest, preparing to move to get a better look or even meet the new arrivals, but a tense and distraught looking Tyki fairly bowled him over in an all out sprint down the sidewalk in the opposite direction.

"What the hell are you doing?"

"Hurry! Don't let them see us!"

The bewildered Lavi found his feet after they were well around the corner only to have the terrain switched on him as his now determined leader bounded into the shrubbery with him in tow at the sight of several buggies parked or pulling up to the sidewalk. Only when they had reached the safe seclusion of the shadows did the elegantly ruffled Noah dain to give a proper response to Lavi's question as he carefully removed bits of brush from his person.

"I think it's best if we… um, keep a low profile for now, as it were."

Lavi's brow and shoulders rose and fell in indifference, though not without a little irritation.

_He could have said that to begin with…_

"Alright," preening done, Tyki made an about face, "let's go on then…"

A short distance brought them to a small alcove with a door denizen.

The Pleasure smiled as he pushed the significantly less grand door open, "After you!"

* * *

"SHIRLY!!!"

"Shirly, he!"

In a display of more dexterity than had ever been credited to him before, Sheryl managed to jump the half meter to the ground from his stool before the ever armed and dangerous twins collided with it.

"What, what, what, what?" He scampered a few strides away from the scene of the almost mauling, nerves clearly beginning to shred.

"Tyki wasn't there!"

"Nope, sure wasn't!"

"Couldn't see hide nor hair of the princess!"

"Hide nor hair, he!"

Debitto commandeered the stool.

"Should we go back and kill the driver for losing him?"

"He!"

"No, no, no!" the exasperated and appalled (though not unsurprised) Noah wilted, putting a hand to his forehead. "We're talking about the man who can walk through walls here, if he's lost it certainly isn't the driver's fault- oh! Hello?"

A teeze cut the explanation short by catapulting into the side of Sheryl's head with apparently more force than intended as it proceeded to fall back, dazed, and begin to fall to Earth before the startled Noah caught it.

"Sheryl?"

"Tyki! Well, speak of the devil! Where are you, dear? The twins were looking for you… and- Twins! Where's Road!!!"

Jasdero and Debitto turned and stared blankly at each other for agonizing seconds, suspiciously shifty-eyed.

"Bathroom…" they said in unison. Sheryl squinted at them to show that the conversation wasn't over, but returned to Tyki.

"Sorry, hon, where are you?"

"… Don't call me that, please…"

"Oh! Sorry, hon!"

"We're in the family booth…"

"Aw! How sweet!"

"… What?"

"Because it's like she's part of the family already! Aw!"

"_Sheryl_! What is wrong with you? Oh, forget it, anyways, I was calling to ask if you could make sure no one comes up here until the party starts."

The elder brother smiled prettily.

"Anything you want, dear! Sounds like you have something stunning planned," he turned to take in his unfinished task, hands on hips as he chattered on.

The anxious twins took the opportunity to begin slinking away as soon as the well-tailored back was all they could see.

"Stunning… yes, that's a good word…"

"Oooooh! I'm so excited! Well, I'll let you go now, Tyki! Got to finish up some last minute touches…" In one fluid motion he let loose the teeze and turned, cheery smile transformed into one of a much darker persuasion, "And find out about my missing daughter,_ twins_."

"Eep!"

"It's not our fault, he!"

The triumphant and terrifying unfooled father hooked a finger into the furry collars of the two would-be escapees and led them forcefully down the hall.

"I think _I'll_ be the judge of who is at fault and who is not, my dears."

* * *

Tyki ran a hand through his mane of stress-curled hair with a weary huff, letting his eyes make a large sweep across the curtained booth before letting them land on his erect and rather out of place looking companion.

"You know you can sit back in the chair and relax or… put your feet up or, you know, breathe normally. It's not like our floor will explode or the ottoman will jump up and eat your throat out…" He lit a cigarette and took a drag lazily. "The Earl may be a wee bit upset if you get dirt on something or whatever, but it's not like he's going to just fall out of the ceiling and kill you or anything, chill out. You look so tense…"

"Wouldn't you be?"

Gilded eyes jumped with a closeted curiosity. Lavi cocked his head, looking down the instant Tyki looked up and studying his hands where they sat twisting and tossing in his lap.

"Strange place, strange people… In a room far away from everyone else, alone… with you-"

"You're still worried about that?" Tyki sat up, nearly extinguishing his cigarette on the arm of the couch. "Look, I _promise_ no one will hurt you-"

"Huh?" the redhead's wondering eye stopped its pacing to rest on his pitiably beseeching companion, blank expression rippling as he lazily registered what had been said. "No, it's not that at all!" A little laugh escaped and slid smoothly along the almost tangible tension in the room without making a dent in it. "It's just that it's all so… formal. And you. And me… alone in here."

Now it was Tyki's turn to display his finest of vacant facial arrangements.

"What do you mean?"

"I am your date, after all. We're supposed to be an item."

"_Oh_!" the exclamation of understanding quickly morphed into a much feebler shadow of itself, "oh…"

Lavi went on matter-of-factly, oblivious to his increasingly uncomfortable companion's sudden need to shuffle his limbs around almost every second.

"You know, your whole family probably thinks we're doing something a little… risqué, if you catch my drift. Flirting, at the very least."

"…eh…"

"Of course, they think I'm some gorgeous dame too, so I guess it doesn't really matter."

"… hm…"

"Wow, the more I think about this… geez! You really went all out for coming out of the closet! Heh! I'm a guy, I'm an exorcist, I'm-"

"Are you a virgin?"

Lavi blinked at the abrupt outburst, turning his head sharply to find the Noah much closer than he remembered.

The intense face broke to complete disinterest before the startled adolescent had time to reply and Tyki let forth an impressive stream of nonsense to cover his inappropriate inquiry as he straightened in his chair with an equally impressive speed, "I meant 'how's the weather?'. Wait, no, I meant 'nice weather we've been having, no?' Yeah, that's what I meant to ask; I have no idea why whatever I said came out. What was it I said again? 'Are you deferring?' As in backing out. Because that's fine, if you want to, I _totally_ understand if you do. It's not like we have to go through with this, Lulu was totally right; I can always just go and leave and hide and stay far away for awhile and they'll all forget and it will all be okay, it's not like I actually like you- wait, no! That's not what I meant! I mean, I like you okay, just not like _like_ you- like you, just like _like_ you, you know? I mean, you're okay."

A series of tiny half nods in various directions accompanied by little shrugs of the shoulders in quick succession ended the ever so eloquent explication.

"For an exorcist."

A silence appropriate for such an awe-inspiring impromptu speech followed as Lavi sat, leaned over in a state of suspended uncertainty, mouth slightly agape and Tyki stared at him as if daring him to respond while hurriedly trying to recall which of the million of thoughts thrashing about in his head had made it out of his mouth.

At long last the dangling jaw snapped closed and spread in a wry grin.

A chuckle.

Lavi shook his head, wild hair flapping with an odd gravity.

Then a laugh.

Then a bark.

Then a roar.

Lavi threw his head back and smashed the previously impenetrable silence as effectively as his hammer could have smashed through the floor of the booth and triggered a falling sensation in Tyki's gut that was not too unlike the one he would have felt had it been the size-shifting innocence and not its wielder's laughter that had done damage.

At last, Lavi let his head loll forward again, pulling him into a slouch as he ran a hand through his bangs and said in an airy half-gasp, half-chortle,

"You have a crush on me!"

"That is _not_ what I-"

"Yeah, but it's true!" Tyki opened his mouth to release another burning protest, but he found his voice had deserted him.

_What the fuck is going on here? Tyki Mikk doesn't freeze up like this, dammit, dammit, dammit!_

"You have a crush on me…" Lavi was smirking in sly triumph, taking in the room while shaking his fiery head.

Tyki could do nothing but stare at the stretch of floor between his feet while trying not to notice his clenched fists resting on his knees.

"You lost at your own game, huh?"

Now it was Tyki's turn to be shocked upon raising his gaze and finding the exorcist, bookman, Lavi- whatever, well into his personal bubble, finger raised, instructing.

"You thought you'd be able to bring me over as your date tonight… introduce me to your family just to gauge their feelings on your sexuality," the speed of the lecture increased as things came together in Lavi's infallibly mathematical brain, and Tyki had to close his eyes. "You liked me fine enough based on looks and character, or as much of those as you'd seen in battle, and… then you realized in addition to that I was actually attainable because of my dual position as a bookman, a neutral party, but you misassessed your own feelings. You didn't think you'd have trouble keeping me at a distance, but you really like me."

Lavi sat back, satisfied.

"You really like me…"

Tyki's muscles crawled and he tightened everywhere trying to crush the spidery sensation, but then laxed in defeat. He smiled and Lavi saw in the gilded gaze a weariness that could not belong to someone of only twenty-six years.

"Have we not always told you we're human too?"

* * *

"Road!"

Without a nanosecond lost on thought, Sheryl plowed into the women's bathroom, brows in a perfect upward diagonal and lips drawn tight in worry. The twins, ever wary of cooties, lingered at the entrance, flinching every time Sheryl flung open a stall door.

"Rooooooad!"

"Ho?" the Earl appeared out of nowhere, inquiring exclamation possibly more intimidating coming from within his human form.

"He!" squeaked Jasdero. He hid at his brother's waist.

"Is Road missing?"

Sheryl fielded the question in hysterics despite the fact that it had been put to the trembling twins.

"Yes! My precious darling daughter is nowhere to be found!"

The Earl turned his head slowly to the twins.

"My one and only daughter! Heiress to all I possess and the only source of light in my otherwise dark and depressing years of decay!"

"Is it your fault, Jasdebi?"

"He!"

* * *

"Yes, good evening, Duke, it is excellent to see you. Salutations, Countess, how is your charming daughter these days? A pleasure to see you as well, Thane. Is that gold leaf on your collar? How exquisite!"

Lulubell's pearls rose with her breasts as she sighed in between greetings, elegant even in her ire. This was a job for the exuberant and easily-excited host, not his aloof and detached relative. But, as the host was currently a tearful and wrathful heap in the kitchen, the duty had fallen to the Lust and she was, if anything, dutiful. Besides, one did not refuse the Earl when his eyes were shining in that sinister way only his eyes could.

"So glad you could make it here tonight, Duchess! May I say that your hair is particularly stunning this evening?"

Then again, duty had its deadlines. She cast her atypically azure eyes across the room to look for a break in the slow of the well-groomed guests.

"Sire," she nodded, "Madame," she nodded, "Duchess," she nodded, "Earl."

This was her chance. Lulubell subtly brought a golem to her lips in a gloved fist but the words she planned on saying deserted her as she spotted a familiar crop of pointed hair low among the heads of the royal company.

"Sniffle… He-hello?"

"Sheryl!" The fine bones in her porcelain neck protruded as she whispered fiercely, "I found her!"

* * *

"And yet we still don't believe you, huh?"

"What about you though, Lavi?" Tyki's smile did not waver but the light in his eyes became instantly more intense. "I don't care about 'we', you and the exorcists… I care about 'we', me and my family." Lavi held himself absolutely still, making sure he missed nothing, no movement, no subtle tone, "because my family is always my family… but you, Lavi… borboleta, what do _you _think?" A

part of Lavi wanted to snort at the Pleasure's passionate and grandiloquent inquiry but another part was deeply affected by the plea. Facts aside, there was something fundamentally human about the creature before him and he realized that he had just done a very human thing: offered himself up for rejection. The choice was now Lavi's. Though a faint pulse of his exorcist side screeched that this was pure bullshit, the neutral coolness of his historian heritage called for the path that would open more opportunities for information.

Lavi looked up at Tyki, vulnerable for the first time in their experience together, and ignored both sides.

"Does it matter?"

Tyki blinked. This was a much more mysterious answer than he'd hoped for.

He blinked again, and started wide-eyed at his hand in the younger man's well-used fingers.

"You're just Tyki when all's said and done, and me," without warning, Tyki's senses came crashing back to him and, with a mental blessing and breakneck speed, he seized the moment and slid closer in his seat, "I'm just Lavi, aren't I?"

"Borboleta…"

* * *

"Road? Road, Road, Rooooad?" Sheryl, remarkably immaculate for having spent he last quarter of an hour sobbing piteously in between fits of righteous fury, came jogging down the hall into the ballroom just in time to see Lulubell begin to fight her way through the crowd.

Fatherly instinct on full blast, he instantly brought his eyes to the object of her chase: Lero, black cover on for the formality of the occasion, and dangling from its handle-

"Road!" The exclamation barely made it from his lips.

Ignoring the calls of the Earl behind him, the distressed patriarch plowed into the mob of nobles with only one thought on his mind.

* * *

"What does that mean? 'Borboleta'?" their knees touched gently but their bodies continued to bend forward.

"It means I really like you, like you said. It means you won my bet: I lost."

"Hm?"

"You're braver than I gave you credit for."

"Mm. But what does it really mean?"

"I told you. But maybe actions can do what words cannot…"

Lavi's first thought when his mouth touched Tyki's was that it was a lot more pleasant than the pillows he'd practiced on.

Tyki had no thoughts at the moment. He was, after all, the Pleasure.

* * *

"Lero! Get down immediately!"

"Lero, you bring my daughter here at once!"

"Ho!"

"Lero, lero, leroooo!" The pitiable pumpkin wailed under the strain of its unwanted passenger who, for her part, remained stubbornly attached, ignoring the catastrophe below.

Sheryl and Lulubell stood in a stressed silence for several beats before both leaping into action, searching for a chair or table, anything to assist in elevation.

The Earl was only half way through the crowd, slowed by his pair of captives, and the whole of the ballroom was alive with shock and horror at what they perceived to be an innocent girl rising steadily at the mercy of a clearly bewitched, thrashing umbrella. Just as Sheryl produced a stool and Lulubell managed to mount a table, the twins decided that it was time to finish the task Jasdebi style.

"Ready, Jas?"

"He!"

The gunshots in unison ushered in a total silence.

The Earl looked down.

Sheryl froze with one pristinely polished loafer on the stool top.

Lulubell let her uplifted arms drop.

Lero even paused, unsure of whether or not it had been hit.

Then a deluge of shrieks and a peppering of gunfire ensued, people running blindly for the exits or grabbing one another in fright. The booth curtain behind Lero was thrust forward and back, contorting as the heavy cloth tore. Inevitably, the lines holding the drape were shot and, as Lero ran out of room to escape up and began to make a circuit of the ceiling, the booth curtains came down in impressive satin-lined waterfalls.

The crowd condensed, coming back to the center of the ballroom, as the massive folds fell to the marble floors. In majestic slow-motion reminiscent of particularly poignant scenes from the cinema, Lero bent impossibly as one of the twins, or perhaps both, finally hit their mark.

There was a collective gasp as the umbrella began a surreal, spiraling descent on a backdrop of the seemingly soundless collapse of the final curtain. All the air felt as though it was sucked out of the room by a massive vacuum as more than two hundred pairs of society's best's eyes watched Road and the maimed Lero come zig-zagging through empty space.

Sheryl thought his heart might burst, oblivious to all but the scene above.

Time came suddenly back to life again and with a vicious vengeance.

A roar of surprised cries, the final thuds of the booth drapes coming to rest on the floor, and the report of Jasdebi's last shots were all out done by the Earl's piercing call.

"Tyki-pon!"

The addressed party was unable to answer as he was currently clinging to Lavi's bottom half while the top half struggled to pull Road and a moaning Lero to safety.

With theatrical timing, the crowd oohed and aahed at critical moments in the rescue until coming to a tense silence as Tyki brought the three previously protruding bodies to safety in the corner of the Noah family booth.

"Uncle!" Road hopped merrily into a breathless Pleasure's arms. He subconsciously returned the embrace, staring over the poofy-sleeved shoulder at an apparently unshaken Lavi who winked his one visible eye, raising Lero in his direction as if making a toast of victory.

The unmistakable high-pitched voice of Sheryl sounded small in the greatness of the hall.

"Good heavens…" he sank to his knees on the tabletop and the whole room began to breath again.

"Who is that auburn-haired chap?"

"Did you see that save? Divine interference, I say,"

"What on Earth is Marquis Mikk doing up there with that scrappy looking gentleman?"

"Never mind his looks, he saved Miss Road's life!"

"Tyki-pon!"

The chatter cut off instantly at the commanding sound of the Earl's voice.

"Who is your friend, Marquis? And where is your fiancée?"

Tyki gently set Road down on the nearest piece of furniture, scouring Lavi's face for some indication of how he should respond.

Before Lavi could express anything however the Dreams put her solution into action with a clear returned shout, "That is his fiancé, silly Earl-samma!"

Tyki whipped around as the crowd broke into conversation again, at least one grand duchess swooning and more than twenty ladies of some level in the social hierarchy breaking into tears.

Sheryl's monocle fell to the table top with a resounding plink.

He made no effort to collect it. "Fi… fiancé?"

"Well, no! No, it's not exactly-"

"Listen up, everyone!" Lavi put a foot on the railing, waving an arm and effectively stifling all traces of chatter.

Even the bawling young females who had at some or another time vied for Tyki's attentions lifted their teary faces to hear what the mysterious red-haired man had to say.

"I'm not Tyki's fiancé," he propped his elbow on the bent knee, assuming a stance his attentive and stock-still companion recognized as one of his cocky, pre-fight poses. "I'm not even his boyfriend, let alone really his friend."

Road sneakily took her uncle's hand and flashed him a loving but unmistakably devious grin before returning her attention to the crowd below.

"I'm just his date for tonight. That's all, you all know how that is,"

Sheryl stole a glance around the room, intently studying the upwards facing visages in order to gauge the public reaction.

They were listening.

"I'm sure each of you has gone along to some occasion or another just to send a message, to project a notion. Well that's what I am, a message, a notion. I'm here to show you that Marquis Mikk isn't quite ready to settle down and find that special someone yet. He may not be ready for that for another five years, another ten years, fifteen, twenty: who knows?"

Lavi shrugged. "Who ever knows, really? But what he's trying to say-"

"What I'm trying to say," Tyki came to stand at the rail, infallibly handsome in the heat of the moment, "is that this is where I stand."

With theatrical timing Road took Lavi's hand as well and brought the two together, beaming with brilliant innocence, inciting a subtle eye roll from Lavi and going unnoticed by the passionate Portuguese.

"You may frown upon it, you may whisper about it, you may rally, and protest, and estrange me, but here is where I stand."

Lulubell, eyes shut and facing away, smiled. She would have some apologies to make when all was said and done.

"You do not have to like me, you do not even have to respect me, but know that I will not change for you. Earl-samma," the Noah patriarch started at the sound of his name, "Twins," the squirming duo scowled up, trying to understand what this big lecture meant, "Lulubell," his sister shrugged a pale shoulder, "Sheryl."

The end of the catalog left the brothers in a staring stalemate: one end proud and unbending, the other open and absorbing.

"I approve!" chirped Road cheerfully, bringing all attention to herself. Judiciously, she brought the two men's hands even closer together and released them, facilitating a handhold.

Tyki's ferocity morphed fluidly into flirtatiousness as he smirked at Lavi and added in a much more quiet voice, "And we'll have to see about that fiancé business. I wouldn't mind too much."

Under the influence of the Pleasure's charm, the hopeless eighteen year-old reverted instantly to the mode they'd been in prior to having the curtain isolating them from the majority of high class society shot down, saving Lero from an unfortunate demise, and orating to all present about homosexuality's place in society.

"Oh ho! You wouldn't mind, huh? Well why don't we see about that boyfriend business first?"

"Ah, cheeky borboleta! I will save us time, you'll see." Without a second thought, Tyki pulled Lavi into a melodramatic kiss that carried on all the intensity of the preceding moments, only concentrated fully where their lips met.

The moment stretched and very probably could have continued to stretch for something close to eternity had it not been broken by the sound of applause.

A dazed Tyki and curious Lavi looked down to see Sheryl standing on the table, monocle dangling dangerously and tears pouring down his cheeks as he brought his hands together repeatedly.

"Irmâo! Mi irmâo!"

The solid clap of the Earl of the Millenium joined Sheryl's frantic flutters and then the whoots of the twins ushering in the thunderous approval of the breathless crowd.

Tyki blinked down at Lavi who shrugged with a smile.

"I guess I won!" Tyki said, delighted. "I'm pretty awesome, hm?"

"Tch!" The fiery-haired teen wiggled an arm free after delivering a playful smack to Tyki's shoulder.

"You're okay," he slid an arm around the Pleasure's waist and murmured through a smirk, "for a Noah."

* * *

Whew! :3 One more chapter to go! Hope you've enjoyed it and a thousand thank yous for hanging in there so long! XD The day I actually update a story regularly I think the world will end...

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Bring it on!

Oh! One thing you might like to know is that "borboleta" means butterfly. On that vein, "irmâo" means brother. :)

-mwa-

-S


	8. Sunday Reprise

First off, a quick thank you to the other half of Momosportif, my own dear twinsu, for typing up all this. :3 Thanks for hanging in there too, my dear H! You are a great typing-demon! XD

To everyone else, please enjoy! :3 Thank you so much for reading!

-bows-

-S

* * *

"Tyyyki!"

"Tyki, he!"

The addressed party jumped a fair foot as the duet of his name woke him from his deep reverie.

"Jasdebi? Do you- _Jasdebi_!" Tyki, taken wholly aback as the invincible duo flung themselves onto his lap, let the hand he'd been resting his chin on fall to return the embrace loosely. "What's all of this?"

"We're sorry we teased you earlier, he!"

"About a uh… girlfriend and all…"

"Yeah, he! So we brought you a present to make up for it, right, Debi?"

"That's right, Jas!" Debitto reached into his over-sized jacket and produced a pair of identical rubber ducks, tied together at the neck by a gaudy pastel bow.

"So you can think of us fondly all the time, he!"

"Or at least when you're in the bath-"

"TWINS, OUT!" the Lust of Noah sauntered into the study without warning and waved a hand at the pair. "Tyki and I need to have an adult discussion."

"Blegh!"

"Icky, he!"

Jasdero rolled off in an awkward front somersault as Debitto hastily jumped up, using the chair's arm like a gymnast's horse vault.

"Later, Mr. Adult, he!"

"Yeah, but keep us in mind for the best men!"

Debitto saluted with a wink as he stepped over the log rolling Jasdero and out of the door.

"Keep you in mind for _what_?"

"Heeeee!"

A smart slam cut off the final echoing sound of the twins and Lulubell pivoted smoothly holding a hand out to a mildly surprised Tyki.

"Here's the paper, dear."

"Thanks, Lulu."

"And here's twenty pounds."

"What?"

"The bet."

"What are you talking about, Lulu?"

With a huff of impatience, Lulubell put her hand on the corner of the desk opposite Tyki, sliding her rear onto it slightly for extra support.

"I was positive you would chicken out and run like I said. Usually, I would have made a wager with Skin, but seeing as he's dead," Tyki cringed as the heartless beauty callously continued after making a brief pause to scratch at something or another on the tabletop, "I made a wager with myself. And you won, so there you have it."

She raised a slim finger to indicate the notes on Tyki's knee.

"Twenty pounds."

Tyki, still in a slight state of shock merely nodded dumbly as Lulubell tossed her hair to hide a smile.

"I must say, Tyki… you always surprise me; me, the one who thinks she knows you best." Three swings of perfectly proportional hips brought the Lust to the armchair where a still speechless Tyki vaguely registered a rare embrace from his most distant sibling. "Guess I'll be displaced one day soon though, hm?"

Gilded eyes followed a playful digit as it passed over the bridge of his nose.

"Lulu…" he managed at last as she slid fluidly from the arm of his chair while the sound of poorly muffled footsteps carrying a massive weight became louder and louder.

She purred.

"You didn't do too bad of a job either! He's pretty cute, you know…"

The library door to the hall creaked slightly as it was pushed fully ajar. Lulubell paused in her retreat to one of the other exits to intone dangerously, "Which, by the way, means I'll be seeing to it that you treat him properly! Boyfriends are not past times, they are idols to be worshipped. Use that money wisely; I'm not going to allow you to screw this up."

A small shiver woke the previously stunned Pleasure up from his state of shock at the lingering threat and he was able to turn, dismissing all fear with a slight twitch of the eye, to face his next visitor with some semblance of composure.

"Earl-samma…"

"Sweet, Tyki-pon!"

Unprepared for the use of one of several bizarre superpowers, this one being super-speed that no creature of the Earl's girth should have been capable of, Tyki had no chance to even consider escape before finding himself buried more deeply in the satin seating than he ever had believed was possible.

"Guh!"

"Tyki-pon! My little Tyki-pon!" The Earl rose to take in the smothered object of his affections, tears streaming down the gray-green cheeks like waterfalls.

Tyki coughed, struggling to breath again while massaging protesting ribs.

"You made me so proud yesterday, Tyki!"

"Eh?" This sincere statement was almost more surprising than the pile-drive love tackle he was still recovering from.

"Oh, yes, Tyki! Very, very proud!" The Earl went on, raising clasped, gloved hands to his chin as his glasses sparkled with adoration. "You know I worry so, Tyki… you seem so uninterested and detached sometimes and I start to believe the worst, and yet," Tyki blinked dumbly as the master of all evil made a dramatic pause, "you always turn around and surprise me so, Tyki!"

A pristine pearly hand disentangled itself from the other to pat the curl-bedecked cranium of the Earl's favorite pet. "Oh, Tyki! So brave! So creative! So _sweet_!"

_I wonder how much he really knows…_

The corner of Tyki's lip lifted a minute distance in a sneer of suspicion, mild revulsion, and overall abashment.

"I can't wait to have him over!"

Cooing apparently complete and task, though still unclear to the over-adored Noah, evidently accomplished, the Earl of the Millennium began waddling excitedly back from whence he came.

"Ho!" a soft version of his favorite multi-purpose exclamation curtailed his exit as he turned, hand over mouth (or as much of it as he could cover with one hand). The top hat adorned head tilted in cute yet simultaneously sinister inquiry.

"You _will_ be having him over, won't you, Tyki-pon?"

The command poorly disguised as a question had only one right answer, and Tyki was far too tired to fight this particular battle at the moment.

"Of course!" he exhaled halfheartedly, any chance of elaborating dying as the Earl immediately chortled.

"Oh, good! I knew you would, Tyki-pon! Such a good boy… I'll make arrangements for tea sometime…"

Praying that 'sometime' did not mean today, Tyki reclined after opening one eye to scan for any other possible disturbances. As much as he appreciated the support of his family, he was in dire need of some, he felt, well-deserved beauty sleep.

The strange lullaby of household activity lulled the slightly smiling Pleasure to the semi-conscious state he'd been enjoying before the twins interrupted, and he would have given into the cozy escape of rest entirely had a sound only he could perceive above the rumble of a bustling mansion not caught his attention.

"Oi, borboleta…"

"Hey, Tyki." Road's voice was soft with respectful and aloof affection. She was somewhere behind him at a bookshelf.

"Homework?"

"Yeah."

"Need any help?"

"No, it's just literature. Earl-samma said he'd help me."

"Okay."

A comfortable pause came and Tyki deliberated whether or not to pose an inquiry that had been gnawing at him since last night (he tried to think quietly as Road seemed able to read his mind when he pondered without prudence). With a fraction of a frown he finally decided to put the question to his niece, "You didn't do it on purpose, did you? That whole stunt last night?"

He'd thought too indiscreetly; he could tell by the tone of her answer and how he could practically hear her grinning.

_Dammit_…

"Hee hee! Don't be silly, Tyki! How could I have known any of that would happen? I didn't even know who you brought with you, right? It was just as surprising to me as anyone else, of course."

He never could tell what was true and what was a boldfaced lie with Road.

A deep sigh levered his eyes open in time to catch the Dreams as she slipped between the left chair arm and the writing desk, resting her chin by his elbow. It really didn't matter though, reflected Tyki as he ruffled her slicked down hair. In the end, she was always his cute little niece, wasn't she?

"Ah, borboleta… we'll make it out one day, huh?"

She giggled.

"We'll see, Tyki… You made a nice choice though, I think." Large, lazy eyes betrayed her honest humor. "The little bookman isn't so bad! Plus, I still get Allen-kun…"

"Hm!" Tyki smiled fondly after her as she dislodged herself from the crevice between furniture and retreated to the door leading to one of the many useless sitting rooms.

"You think he'll help me with his history if I ask very nicely, Tyki?"

"Probably, Road…"

"Hm!" With a small secret smile only she understood, Road took her leave of the library and its one and only frequenter.

Tyki settled back into his seat and, with a flash of divine inspiration, picked up a discarded newspaper that was under Jasdebi's ridiculous ducks on the side table and propped it up before him to deter any other passersby.

Some people simply cannot be deterred, however.

"How long?"

Tyki found his newspaper folded down to reveal a delicately concerned visage he was none too thrilled to see.

"_What_?"

"How long are you going to wait?"

Tyki blinked incredulously at his pining brother.

"What the hell can you possibly want from me now? Didn't I meet your terms? Didn't I-"

"But, Tykiiiiii!" Sheryl threw himself into the armchair melodramatically, wiggling bony hips to force his awed and appalled sibling to make room where none existed.

He blinked in a maudlin fashion, magnified by the monocle.

"He's _so_ adorable! How on earth do you plan on resisting for any substantial length of time?"

Tyki, having no room to elude the willowy limbs he suddenly found flung around his neck, could do nothing but grunt in disgust at this blasé invasion of his personal space, demanding sharply, "Sheryl, I have absolutely no idea what you're talking about." He tried, sans success, to shove the daintily crossed legs from his lap as he continued crossly, "What exactly am I resisting in your little," the Pleasure struggled for an appropriately condemning adjective as he gave up the struggle to remove Sheryl from his person and crossed his arms, "gay fantasy world?"

This choice was a massive failure as it only incited a squeal and tightening of the grip on his neck as Sheryl explained emotionally, "Your lover of course! How are you going to survive not seeing him for days on end? It must be torture, you poor, sweet thing!"

He released the instantly distrustful Noah of Pleasure at long last as he stood, staring passionately out into space.

"Sheryl," began Tyki in a dangerous tone, "don't even-"

"That's why- hm. Yes. Yes, it must be done. That," the object of a fearful but violent death glare turned his contented countenance to his brother once more, "is why I am going to give you a little push in the right direction!"

Tyki's weary and fury-clouded mind raced to decode this cryptic declaration as Sheryl traipsed to the door, but an answer from his source of anguish came before he could discern some solution.

"You have until Saturday."

"_What_?" Tyki's eyes widened, face going slack in disbelief.

Sheryl gave his most sinisterly sweet smile, eyes forming two perfect little arches of elated evil and mouth curving upwards to the point that it looked fit to collapse on itself.

"Until the wedding, dear brother! I'll get started on the guest list right away!"

With a waggle of his fingers, Sheryl all but ran from the room, pausing at the door to give a little shrug of delight and sigh, "Ah, first love!"

Tyki let his head fall to greet the table top with a hollow think. The newspaper fell to the ground and raced the bedraggled bachelor's (an appellation now in questionable standing) spirits in deflating.

_Perdão, borboleta, perdão_.

If he had been unsure before, he was now convinced; Allen Walker, as it turned out, was not the only master cheater in the great wide world. Nor was he the best.

* * *

Whew! So ends this little ill-fated prize fic for kaenu! :3 Hopefully, it was a decent ending, but if not...(you know the drill)...

Questions? Comments? Concerns? Homicidal urges? Stick it to me in a review and a thousand thank yous to you all for reading!!!

-bows-

-S

p.s. According to my nifty Berlitz phrasebook, _"perdão_" means "sorry" :3 This thought is directed at Lavi (of course 3)


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